reflections on life as an house sitter and perpetual traveller

The Big Little Town of Penguin, Tasmania

Its a tiny town really, located in the North East coast of Tasmania bording the the Bass Strait. Tiny not only because of the human population, but also because it’s a seasonal home for those beautiful creatures, the little penguins who have a rookery at a point named after them.

Little penguins are aptly named,only 33cm tall and weighing around 1kg they are the smallest (and cutest!) of the Penguin species. During the breeding season from September to March, they gather in rookeries all the way along Tasmania’s north-east coast – but especially at the little beach bluff between Ulverstone and Burnie known as Penguin Point. Swimming from island colonies in the Strait (including the nearby Goat Island), many come ashore each year to lay their eggs in burrows.

Maybe that’s why in 1975 for the centenary of what was originally a timber town, the 4,000 permanent residents decided to celebrate its beauteous inhabitants, by building a big penguin statue.

But its not the only statue around town; penguin statues and motifs can be found adorning rubbish bins or saluting you outside shops.

Without doubt it is the unique natural beauty of this small coastal town which causes both penguin and human alike, to return to its shore.

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Boofy from Port Macquarie

I'm a house sitter, writer and healer who travels around Australia minding beautiful pets and houses, exploring parts of the country some for the first time, having fun, adventure and experiencing joy in living lightly.